The Day My Roommate Moved Out

I always said that Jill was the best thing I managed to find on Craigslist.

My ad had detailed out cleaning and partying habits. Clean without being Danny Tanner-esque and doesn’t bring the party home, especially when that party includes random dudes you just met at the bar. I closed the ad with, “If you’re likely to bust into random kitchen dance parties, enjoy having the Hallmark channel on non-stop during the holiday season, and love the Mindy project, we’ll most likely get along.”

After two years of living together, Jill moved out today to chase some new adventures. As we hugged goodbye on our front porch steps, tears streamed down both our faces. Flashbacks from when we first met to how much time has passed flew through my mind and I all could really manage to say was “I love you” and “thank you.” Thinking back on it though, I suppose those are really the two best things I could say. Don’t they just sum it all up?

I walked back into the apartment and saw her set of keys sitting on the kitchen counter (Yes, I got flashbacks to that last episode of Friends…)I strolled into her empty room. Not even the smallest dust bunny lay dormant in a corner. The room was wiped clean and Jill had officially moved out.

As I stood in the doorway to her room, I thought of how sad this moment felt. And then I had another thought. What if instead of putting the focus on her being gone, I put the focus on how lucky I was to have lived with Jill for two years? What if I put the focus on how grateful I am to have met her? What if I thought less about her being gone and more about how she’s still in the neighborhood to meet up for drinks, dinner, and barre classes? We may never be roommates again but we will forever be friends and I think I’m pretty lucky to have found that on craigslist.

My name is Katelyn Patricia. I'm pretty darn happy and I attribute my happiness to creating and living by healthy habits. Don't just think eating kale and taking spin classes. I'm talking how to get out of toxic relationships and into loving ones, what to do when you don't feel very body confident, and how to take that creative dream you have and light it on fire.